Three Quest Deal (Tales of Former Dragons Book 1) Read Online Free

laughed.
    “Turn us into men and a woman?” Toshen asked. “You can’t be serious.”
    “No,” Xan said with a disappointed look. “Not that.”
    “Given our situation, it’s something we should consider,” Aesus said. “If I have to choose between certain death and living the rest of my life as a man, perhaps being a man isn’t such a bad idea.”
    “But wait,” Drakor said, “you haven’t heard the best part of his offer.” He turned to Baldazar. “What exactly do you want in exchange for this transformation?”
    Baldazar grunted and gave Drakor a disapproving look. “All I ask in return is that you complete three quests after the transformation.”
    “That’s all? Only three quests? They must be extraordinarily difficult if you can’t do them yourself.”
    “I’m not as young as I used to be, and certainly not as strong as any of you.”
    “What are the quests?” Aesus asked.
    “I can’t tell you. If the quests fall into the wrong hands, the world as we know it would come to an end.”
    “We’re the only ones here. You can tell us.”
    “No, I can’t. It’s not safe.”
    “Then how are we to know what quests you want us to do?”
    Baldazar frowned and pouted. He paced, tapping his lips with his finger. He stopped and opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, but closed his mouth and paced again.
    “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Drakor asked.
    “Shush. I’m thinking. Give me a moment.”
    After a minute, Baldazar stopped pacing and looked into the distance. “Yes, I’ll do that. That will work.”
    “What will work?” Toshen asked.
    “You’ll have three enchanted scrolls. They’ll look blank, but when a scroll knows you’re ready to do a quest, you’ll be able to read it.”
    “When a scroll knows we’re ready? What type of magic is that?” Aesus asked.
    “Very powerful magic. Don’t worry, it will work as I say. I’ve been doing this for seven hundred years.”
    “And what happens if we don’t complete the quests?” Xan asked.
    “Oh yes, that reminds me. You need to complete the quests within three full moons.” He tapped his finger on his mouth and looked into the distance. “Yes, yes. Three full moons.”
    “You still haven’t answered my question.”
    “What? Oh. Right. Of course. Well, you’ll die if you don’t complete the quests.”
    “Die? That doesn’t seem fair. What if something happens that’s beyond our control?”
    “Yes, I know it’s not fair, but these quests are important to me, and if you don’t complete them, I’ll die too. So you see, all of us have an interest in seeing these quests completed.”
    “How do you know we won’t be affected by the summoning?” Aesus asked.
    Baldazar sighed. “Questions. So many questions. All right. This won’t be the first time I’ve transformed a dragon into a man. He was never affected by the summoning,”
    “You’ve done this before? To whom?” Toshen asked.
    “Rutar, after his battle with Jarusen.”
    Drakor nodded. “I remember that battle. Rutar killed Jarusen, but almost died in the process. He left the cave and was never seen again.”
    Xan shook her head. “Rutar was so jealous after Usara chose Jarusen over him.”
    “After the battle,” Baldazar said, “he crawled to the other side of the island, opposite the cave entrance. I don’t know how he was able to do it, but I heard him calling me day and night. It was driving me mad. I teleported to him and asked him what he wanted. He asked me to heal him, but I couldn’t, because he was so badly injured. His tail was gone, one wing was completely torn off, he was missing an eye, and his body was cut open from his jaw to his bowels. Even if I healed him, he would never fly again. So I made a deal with him.”
    “You and your deals,” Drakor sneered.
    “Extraordinary magic has a price, and there are those willing to exchange something for it. We don’t help others out of the generosity of our hearts. Can I